Son Ultime, seeing and hearing beyond blue eyes
Magog Qc’s Son Ultime boutique is no stranger to spectacular presentations at the Montreal Audiofest. Indeed, Nicolas Grégoire and his team have long spoiled us with large-scale displays of McIntosh equipment. This year was certainly no exception. We were treated to the C12000 preamplifier, the MC1.25KW monoblocks powering the majestic XRT 1.1K line array loudspeakers by McIntosh.
These loudspeakers, which we had the opportunity to listen to last year, were more in evidence this year. Indeed, the absence of a subwoofer allowed us to appreciate the full coherence and breadth of their capabilities. The configuration of these loudspeakers is quite unique these days, with a multitude of tweeter and midrange transducers ensuring predictable and very constant vertical dispersion. They are reminiscent of certain Infinity models from the 1980s, which used a similar configuration.
It takes a lot of courage to dare present such a product at an audio show. It can indeed take weeks for an owner of such McIntosh loudspeakers to get them to sing. With only a day to install them, the challenge can be colossal. Not to mention all the work involved in assembling them… Nevertheless, it was a very successful demonstration, with a grand and spectacular sound. What’s more, the level of compression and distortion was extremely low. Very pleasant to listen to, and on many different styles of music. It’s also worth mentioning that the digital audio source used was certainly a factor.
The source for network playback was the HifiRose HS130 player, a device that leaves no one indifferent with its huge screen and exceptional graphic presentation. On the converter front, the star shone brightly with MSB‘s Premier DAC. This prestigious American brand offers products like no other, and is something of an end of the road when it comes to digital audio technology. With an MSB converter of such quality, it’s not surprising that the musical results are exceptional. Not to mention that the whole set was wired only with Shunyata products of the highest level. All in all, this was certainly one of the most beautiful and enjoyable presentations at the show, and a real blue-eyed delight!
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At Studio Economik, bridging two worlds
Ever heard of Studio Economik? Established many years ago, this shop on St-Augustin Street in Montreal is the reference par excellence for professionals working in recording, mastering or any other task requiring professional studio equipment.
For many audiophiles, there’s still the age-old belief that studio equipment can’t really be used for listening to music. The idea behind this erroneous certainty is that studio equipment is primarily designed for working and has a very analytical tonality, which does not lend itself well to home listening.
Yet nothing could be further from the truth, since both types of equipment are in fact seeking the same sonic truth and the same emotion. The difference is that studio equipment uses different means to achieve this, which are often much more economical. The Studio Economik team set itself the task of proving this by presenting, for a second year, a fine range of professional equipment that can easily be used at home.
In the first room, I listened to a superb controller for studio monitors from Grace Design. This splendid device, which doesn’t look like anything you’d expect from an audiophile, is in fact a preamplifier and a digital-to-analogue converter. The Grace Design M905 is divided into two parts. The first is a fairly minimalist-looking device into which everything plugs, and the second is a large table-top remote control connected by an umbilical wire that powers it. The features of this controller are super interesting and simply unheard of in the audiophile world. Extremely pleasant to use, with world-class sound, the Grace Design M905 was one of my favourites of the show. What’s more, it came in at a very reasonable price of around $5,000. This powered the small A-17M active speakers from PSI Audio. The sound was fine and refined, splendidly open and beautifully neutral. PSI Audio, this exceptional Swiss manufacturer, deserves more attention from many audiophiles looking for soft, neutral, high-quality listening.
In the adjacent room, the Studio Economik team presented Kii Audio‘s fabulous Three BXT System PRO loudspeakers. These monumental active loudspeakers use a multitude of drivers to minimise the interaction of the speakers with the acoustics of the room. These active loudspeakers, which are completely autonomous and even feature a digital-to-analogue conversion stage, need only be powered by a simple network player. In this case, Wattson Audio‘s Emerson Digital was responsible for supplying the data stream required for listening to Qobuz. And what a different listening experience, even a little unsettling. I’ve never heard bass as firm, unobtrusive and pure as on this occasion. Yet the volume was quite high and we could talk without difficulty. The tonality of these speakers verges on perfection, with an impressive level of detail and first-rate melodic
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JD,s favorites
Every year, when we return home from an event like the Montreal Audio Show, it’s a good opportunity to sort through the list of products that made the biggest impression on us and to discuss them with our friends. Although this year I had the opportunity to listen to some excellent products, it was the individual ones that caught my attention and that I’d like to tell you about.
Firstly, this new SL-1200 GR2 turntable from Technics, which literally made my mouth water as I already own a GR from the previous generation. With its digitally controlled motor, switch-mode power supply and many other small improvements, it promises to be a product destined for great success.
Denon’s DP-3000NE turntable particularly caught my eye. Offered at a very competitive price, this nearly forty-pound beast is quite a machine! With its high-quality tone arm, reminiscent of Denon’s DA-305 at the time, this direct-drive turntable is sure to capture the hearts of audiophiles. This year, Denon was keen to highlight the incredible longevity of the DL-103. This iconic cell is now almost sixty years old and is certainly the longest-lived audio product in the industry. Having heard it a few times during the show, it certainly hasn’t aged a day.
In terms of the pure aesthetics of the products, I must confess to having fallen for the 805 Diamond D4 loudspeakers from Bower&Wilkins in their green dress. This Aston Martin edition is absolutely superb both to look at and to hear.
As for the headphones, although I’ve had the opportunity to try out a number of models, the Sennheiser HD 820, accompanied by their HDV 820 amplifier, reminded me just how accomplished and high-performance this product can be. When you really take the time to try them out, you can’t remain indifferent to the comfort, tonal quality, level of detail and overall quality of the product. It’s a headphone you should take the time to rediscover before deciding to buy.
Finally, I have to admit that my favourite item at the Montreal Audio Show was this incredible pair of Cabasse Rialto loudspeakers. This model is completely autonomous and connects directly to your network. A pair of Rialto contains everything you need for network playback, amplification and even some correction to adapt it to your environment.
Offered at a very reasonable price, these intelligent, connected speakers deliver a convincing performance. The Cabasse Rialto is a vision of what the future of hi-fi has in store for us: maximum performance in an ultra-integrated and affordable product. A must-listen, if you missed the demo.
More to come soon…
